Had an awesome 20th anniversary on the Pride of America-July 16, 2011

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Well written review, Lisa! It sounds like a wonderful time, even though you got sick.:( It seems to have gone by very quickly. That's the bad part. We plan for months, sometimes more than a year and then it is over so fast!:eek:

 

We also enjoyed our dinner with you before you left. It was nice to meet Bill and Clare, too.:cool:

 

Thanks Ginny but I am nowhere near as talented at writing as you. While I was writing it, I felt like asking you to write it for me. :D

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thanks Ginny but I am nowhere near as talented at writing as you. While I was writing it, I felt like asking you to write it for me. :D

And I was wishing I had kept mine as to-the-point as yours!:D

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I uploaded more photo's so I wanted to share some pics that I couldn't upload in my review. The fish frenzy at Dole:

Sometimes words just can't describe what you see.

 

Our karaoke hangout-The Gold Rush Saloon. sorry it is so blurry but my MD makes me shake sometimes.

 

Watching sailaway from our Ilikai Hotel room:

 

Us at Akaka Falls in Hilo:

 

And I just had to show a before and after shot of Steve and I at Wailua Falls in Kauai from 2007 to last week.

Funny that Steve is wearing the same hat. LOL

[Havin'fun]

Lisa,

Love the review and pictures! We are going in Jan 2012 and you have given me some great ideas.

I do have a question - we are looking at taking the Airventures flight and my DH has some problems with walking, he can't go very far without having to stop for a bit. How far of a walk is it to where they pick you up?

Thanks!

Diane

[brunolvr]

Thanks for the great review and for sharing your beautiful pictures! Just 6 weeks to go until it's our turn to cruise on the POA!:D

[TSUmom]

Thank you for the review and wonderful pictures. I love looking at pics - It just makes me that more excited about my trip!!:D

[welly world]

Thank you for sharing! We are hoping to go in 2 years and this is exactly what we want to do ... you have made me wish we could go earlier.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Lisa' date='[/color']

Love the review and pictures! We are going in Jan 2012 and you have given me some great ideas.

I do have a question - we are looking at taking the Airventures flight and my DH has some problems with walking, he can't go very far without having to stop for a bit. How far of a walk is it to where they pick you up?

Thanks!

Diane

 

Diane: I have mobility issues too and the walk is only 10 minutes. There is a shuttle to Anchor Cove shopping center but it doesn't start running until 8am. We had to be there by 7:45 for the 8:30 flight. They do have a later flight but then you risk your view as I've heard the clouds roll in late morning. We didn't seem to have a problem that day as it was sunny later that day. Call Airventures and talk to them to see what they recommend for you. Our shuttle driver ended up returning us directly to the ship instead of anchor cove but it was just the 2 of us.

[cidymom]

Hi Lisa - Thank you for taking the time to write up your Hawaii Trip Report. I have a question on Airventures. Do they provide a DVD of your flight like the Blue Hawaiian helicopter tour? Thanks for your help.

[Countrygirl44]

Hi Lisa:

Glad you had a great trip. Sorry you got sick the last day, far better than the first day. Looks like you had great excursions. Due to the fact I am the driver in the family (DH had a stroke and has some vision difficulties) we will be taking excursions that will eliminate me having to drive.

We are doing The Road To Hana with Valley Isle, Hilo with Ricky and Hanalei with Roberts. The others, Best of Maui, Knoa by Land and Sea and Waimea,Wailua and Fern Grotto all with NCL. Just got the new NCL credit card today, so will be booking the excursions soon..l.want to start earning points for OBC. I am not really happy with paying the NCL excursions up front, but I guess in the long run it does not matter.

Your review was so well written, it made me feel like I was there. your pictures are wonderful. Went to Webshots and enjoyed your album. You are a great photographer.

We have the same cabin starting September 15, 2012. Thanks for the great picture of the balcony.

I am a little concerned about the rocking and rolling (I know the bow is worse than the aft...we usually do the last aft cabin on the side) but wanted the large balcony which is only offered on these bow cabins, except the full aft cabins. Was it "rough" every night or just the first night. DH and I do not usually get seasick but maybe this time we need to have some medication "just in case".

Thanks, too, for the info on Hawaii23/Mark. I had planned to use them from the pier to the airport, but was not sure about the airport to the motel and from the motel to the ship. He is not a lot higher than Roberts and it is not a shared ride.

Our plan is to arrive in Honolulu on Thursday, do World War 11 from the beginning to the end on Friday and then on to the ship on Saturday. We will fly back to Charlotte NC on Saturday September 22 arriving on Sunday morning. We will request early check in for Sunday and try to "get back on EST" before driving home on Monday.

We are not going to do the Circle Island, PCC, or a luau this time. We did all of those on our last land trip to Honolulu. I did want to do Pearl Harbour again. I just don't think a person can go to Honolulu and not do Pearl Harbour (I am a WW 11 baby)...ok, ok, telling my age. 67 now 68 when we cruise.

This will be our first trip to the other islands. Thank you so much for all of your information. You sure made planning a lot easier for me. Also you gave tremendous data on what to look for and enjoy.

Thanks, too, for the ship suggestions. I am afraid that we will just do excursions, eat, and sleep. We probably will not visit any of the shows or the nightclubs. Now, I know I will have to take in some of the shops. We do have to bring home some goodies for friends and families.

I think we will stay at the Aston Waikki Beach. Our TA has a great AAA rate. $328.00 for two nights Partial Ocean View that includes Breakfast on the Beach (which I think is served pool side and you can pack it in the coolers they give you if you want to take it to the beach). I do like the location near the end with a Diamond Head View.

I meet with my TA next week and plan to make all the reservations since I now have the NCL credit card.

Thanks again for the great review.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Hi Lisa - Thank you for taking the time to write up your Hawaii Trip Report. I have a question on Airventures. Do they provide a DVD of your flight like the Blue Hawaiian helicopter tour? Thanks for your help.

 

We did get a free dvd from them when we checked in but it wasn't of "our" flight.

 

Countrygirl: This was my first cruise at the bow. I usually go for aft also. The ship rock & rolled every night. I was surprised it was so rough since we were just cruising between islands. We don't get seasick at all so that wasn't a concern for us. We saw lots of people with the patches behind their ears though. My AZ cruiser friends said they wrap a towel around the empty hangers on the last night to keep them quiet. Wish I had thought of that myself.

 

Don't feel bad about having to prepay for your excursions thru NCL. We basically had to prepay for ours too that were independent excursions. I like the fact that I could plan it out in advance and pay in advance so I wasn't stuck with a whopping bill at the end.

 

I appreciate the compliment for the pictures but I shake a lot so many of my pictures didn't turn out well.

 

Mark at Hawaii 23 was great and very reasonable. It was basically a taxi van but probably cheaper than a taxi would cost and he was very informative and since he's from the mainland, he was very easy to talk to. He's lived in California and Florida I think if I remember right.

 

For souvenirs, I recommend Walmart. They have shuttles at most of the port stops. If you don't like Wally world then I suggest ABC stores. The ship stores are pricey.

 

Good luck on your planning.

[Countrygirl44]

Thanks for the "heads up" on shopping. I will probably hit a Harley Shop for shirts for the boys. I also like some t-shirts for "Me"! On Princess (or should I say that very quietly) the t-shirts are a good quality and only $10.00 each. In fact a little cheaper on the first two days (I think...maybe 20% off).

AZ Karoke Girl....where are you going next year for your "birthday cruise".

Have a nice week end.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I don't usually cruise in July which is when I will be celebrating my next birthday but since it is my 50th, who knows?:D Right now the only cruise in my plan is April 2012. Feb & Oct are usually my most common cruises with maybe a weekend getaway or two thruout the year to cooler weather like San Diego.

[sue402001]

Sounds like you had a great time Lisa, makes me yearn to go again myself. Loved the pictures too. :)

[Countrygirl44]

I don't usually cruise in July which is when I will be celebrating my next birthday but since it is my 50th, who knows?:D Right now the only cruise in my plan is April 2012. Feb & Oct are usually my most common cruises with maybe a weekend getaway or two thruout the year to cooler weather like San Diego.

 

Lisa: Try Alaska to celebrate your 50th. birthday. It is a wonderful cruise. We have gone five times. Probably the expert on Alaska cruises would be Budget Queen. She has soooo much knowledge. We have gone from Whittier to Vancover(my favorite) or Vancover to Whittier(Anchorage)...hard flight back to the East Coast and R/T Seattle. Whichever you would choose, be sure to see Glacier Bay. The R/T Seattle is the easiest flight wise for us. Non stop CLT to SEA and Non stop SEA to CLT.

I did note that you have cruised the Mexican Riveria quite a bit. We have never cruised there

[lv2bgoofy]

Thanks so much for sharing Lisa...really enjoyed "cruising" along with you. Sorry you still aren't feeling well :( and hope you get over it soon....6 days is enough!

 

And I would have to second the trip to Alaska....I have only been once but would go back in a heartbeat.....we LOVED it...we did the landcruise first and then the water cruise.....

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Thanks for the Alaska advice. On my bucket list is eastern caribbean. I've never done a carib cruise yet and both Steve & I want to visit St Thomas and St Maarten. I already booked another mexican riviera cruise with lots of my karaoke friends and clowns from the Shriners for next April so I'm not sure I can swing another 7 day cruise especially during the summer that soon. If I do a birthday cruise next year, I suspect it will be a shorter cruise. We don't get that many vacation days.:(

[Countrygirl44]

Thanks for the Alaska advice. On my bucket list is eastern caribbean. I've never done a carib cruise yet and both Steve & I want to visit St Thomas and St Maarten. I already booked another mexican riviera cruise with lots of my karaoke friends and clowns from the Shriners for next April so I'm not sure I can swing another 7 day cruise especially during the summer that soon. If I do a birthday cruise next year, I suspect it will be a shorter cruise. We don't get that many vacation days.:(

 

 

Just put Alaska on the bucket list for whenever the time will make it work for you. Dh's brother loves the Eastern Caribbean. In fact, he is getting over some surgery and is looking at trying to get a good deal on a last minute Easterdn Caribbean. I have never been to the Eastern. Our first cruise was to the Western. Then we saw some of the same ports again on the Panama Canal (Partial Transit). For me, I like Alaska much more than the Caribbean(from where I have been on the Western)...but then again, I don't snorkle and for those that do, I am sure the Caribbean is a wonderful trip.

Probably will not be back on CC for a few days. I have a birthday dinner this evening, church tomorrow with a fifth Sunday night singing with refreshments (at least I do know what I am going to fix...sometimes I don't know until after church Sunday morning). DS(on) brought me a bushel of cucumbers so I know that Monday I will be making pickles....well, they will taste better this winter than a snowball.

To all my CC friends that will get to hang out on the boards, have a wonderful time and think of me.

[neelie555]

Thanks for taking the time to detail you trip. It sounds great. We sail the 2nd week of October and are looking forward to it. You review helped us to firm up our itinerary.

[langleyfld]

Enjoyed your review! Looking forward to our cruise to Hawaii this October. The pictures were excellent too! I usually take way too many but thats the beauty of a digital, delete!

[Countrygirl44]

Lisa: Just a few minutes between chores and was rereading your review and looking at pictures to see about "what to wear for dinner". I think they have "dress up or not" night. Just a few quick questions:

• Do I need to take suit/long sleeve shirt and tie for DH?
  
• Will casual pants and casual shirts with collar do already for the MDR for DH? Will he need any type of jacket?
  
• For me, skirts and tops....like I would wear to church?
  

I did notice in one of your pictures (I think the night at Lazy J's )that you were wearing a floral dress and Steve a polo shirt with collar.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Hawaii is totally casual. Aloha wear is common. There are 2 free main dining rooms on the POA. The Skyline which is casual and the Liberty which is more formal or vise versa-I forget. In either, a suit & tie is not required. In the more formal, they prefer no jeans or shorts but I think they are fine in the more casual dining room. I definitely didn't wear a dress. I wore black stretch pants and a nice blouse to Lazy J and that was the dressiest I got. Khaki pants and collared shirt is fine for men (Polo, aloha shirt, dress shirt etc). Some of the pay restaurants also have a dress code but no more formal than described above. I don't usually pay much attention to what others are wearing but it isn't necessary to get fancy unless you want to.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

I just read the dress code on my freestyle daily and it says, "you're in Hawaii so we understand that shorts & slipp'as are dressy! However, we do like to cater to our traditional cruisers in two of our outlets. We request that resort casual wear is followed in the Liberty Dining Room and Jefferson's Bistro which includes no shorts, t-shirts, baseball caps, athletic wear or flip flops and sorry men, no open toed shoes. Kids under 12 nice shorts are okay."

 

So I don't see anything here that says no jeans but it seems I remember seeing that. Maybe at the door. Either way, you certainly don't need to get dressed up unless you want to.

[sleepygirl1]

Thanks for the review Lisa! It was great and I enjoyed reading it. We will be leaving on the Pride of America on the 20th of August...I'm really getting excited!!

 

I also will be celebrating my 49th birthday while on the cruise and our 31st anniversary is a few days after the cruise so, we will be celebrating that on the cruise too. I laughed and read the part about the "3 cakes" to my dh...he said, o.k., lets not do that!! I told him we have to celebrate and if it means cakes then that is o.k.. lol

 

We are going with my sister and her husband. We have already lined up our excursions...most through Robert's, road to Hana with Valley Isles and then a helicopter tour in Kauai with Safari Helicopters. I am even more excited after seeing all of your pictures.

 

Oh, and on the Alaska cruise recommendation...dh and I LOVED our Alaska cruise...definitely want to do that one again. Most of our cruises have been caribbean cruises though...I highly recommend a southern caribbean cruise!!

 

Headed back to find the link to more pictures...I'll let you know how our cruise goes!!

 

Lisa

[Jimmanknows]

Great review!